More Than A Mission or 'The Stuff Of Barton Legend'
by boop-oop-ee-doo
Summary: Wanda asks Nat for the truth about a Barton Family Legend. It would be fine, Clint said. The baby wasn't Due for weeks. So, why was Natasha Romanoff carrying a heavily Pregnant, In labour Laura Barton the last few miles to the Hospital?- Ties In with 'Nothing is Impossible'.


AN: Another one-shot for the 'Nothing Is Impossible' Universe, inspired by the recurring anecdote about Nat and the pregnant Laura Barton. Enjoy!

* * *

"Tell me the story."

"What story?" Natasha feigned innocence.

"You know exactly what story."

"Nope. Don't have a clue."

Wanda sighed, then elaborated.

"The you and pregnant Laura story. And I want _tot adevarul._ The whole truth. I think it would really help me right now to know."

"Fair enough" Nat relented. _"It all started when.."_

* * *

"I really don't think this is a good idea."

"Oh, come on Nat, it will be fine" said Clint, preparing the last of his things for his latest mission. "Cooper's staying with Laura's Parents, so you won't have to worry about him. All I need you to do is stay with Laura just in case. Make sure she rests enough, do any heavy lifting, stuff like that."

"You swear she's not going to pop while you're gone?" Natasha sighed, already feeling herself beginning to agree. This damn family did things to the heart she thought she'd completely frozen.

"No popping, cross my heart. She's not due for weeks."

"Good. Because I'm not at all equipped to deal with it if she does.. But, fine. I'll look after your Baby Mama until you get back."

Clint grinned, happily hugging her.

"Thanks, Nat. This really means a lot."

She took a few moments before she hugged him back, still not entirely comfortable with.. well, any type of affection really. And Nat would be lying if she said the job she'd just agreed to didn't still frighten her just a little. But it was only for a few days, right? A week, tops.

What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Natasha and Laura wouldn't exactly call each other friends, yet.

Laura was grateful to Natasha for keeping Clint safe in the field, and they had shared a few polite conversations when Clint brought her home to share a hot meal with them after missions. But Nat was still.. just a little too cold to really get close to.

Natasha respected Laura, and liked her quite a lot, but she was.. very different from the people she had spent her whole life associating with.

Still, they co-existed rather peacefully, and their first two days together were uneventful. Nat did a few of Clint's usual jobs around the farm, and Laura made her eat at what Nat assumed were regular mealtimes- she'd never been too big on schedules in the past.

But then, on the afternoon of the third day, Laura headed into the Kitchen to make them both a cup of tea. Something splattered on the floor, and Laura said:

"Shit."

Nat didn't know Laura well, but she'd known her long enough to know that it was rare for her to swear. This was her first sign that something had gone astray.

"What is it?" She jumped to her feet. "What's wrong?"

"I, uh, think my waters just broke."

"What? How? You're not supposed to be due for a few weeks! Clint promised!"

"Well, you can't really make promises about this sort of thing" said Laura. "The last month can kind of be a free-for-all as to when baby decides to make an appearance."

"It is?" Nat's eyes widened. "Clint didn't tell me that. Oh, I'm going to kill him!"

"Please don't." Laura placed her hands on the other woman's shoulders, trying to calm her, even as she winced through an early contraction. "Stay with me here, Natasha. Can you drive a manual?"

"Well.. yeah. I can drive pretty much anything."

"Good. Then there's really no reason to panic. I've been having twinges since yesterday. This whole process doesn't happen anywhere near as quickly as it looks on TV. We already have a bag packed by the door. We'll just hop in the truck, head for the hospital, call my parents, and try to contact Clint on the way."

"Right. Sure. Okay."

"Good girl" Laura patted Nat's cheek.

"How far away is the hospital?"

"About three hours." She hobbled towards the door to fetch her bag, wincing again.

"How are you so calm?" Natasha watched her, slightly awestruck.

"I have done this once before, you know. And like I said, we have plenty of time. That said, it's always best to leave a little margin for error with these things, so we'd better get going.

* * *

So, they hopped in the truck for the long drive to the Hospital. Along the way, they called Laura's parents to meet them there with Cooper, and managed to get in touch with a panicked Clint, who had just finished with his mission.

 _"Just remember your breathing, Honey. I'll get there as soon as I can, okay?"_

"Okay. Oh, I managed to talk Natasha out of killing you.."

"For now.." Nat muttered under her breath.

 _"Tell her I'm sorry. See you soon, I love you."_

"I love you too." Laura hung up, then turned to Nat. "He says he's sorry."

"He'd better be. You know this is the exact opposite of my job, right? I was raised to be a merciless Assassin!"

"I know."

"Well, there's a lot you probably don't know. I am.." Nat began, before Laura cut her off.

"The Black Widow. I know."

"And you let me in your house?"

"Clint trusts you. That's enough for me."

* * *

As they drove, Laura's contractions became steadily more frequent and painful."

"Uh.. keep up your breathing" Nat nervously instructed. "That's what I'm supposed to tell you to do, right? Do you need to squeeze something? Please don't say you need to push.."

"I don't need to push."

"Good."

Unfortunately, the truck suddenly lurched to a stop. Smoke billowed from the engine.

"Oh no" Laura groaned. "Not now.."

"What? What's wrong with it?"

"It looks like the Engine's overheated. It happens sometimes. We're not going anywhere for a while.." She cried out suddenly, as a particularly strong contraction hit.

"Great. Another piece of very important information your Husband neglected to tell me" Natasha muttered, trying not to panic when Laura cried out. "Okay, how long would it usually take to get to the hospital from here?"

"Uh.. fifteen, twenty minutes? But without a car.."

"No, how far is it on foot?"

"On foot?" Laura looked at Nat like she was insane. "No Idea. I wouldn't be able to walk far like this anyway. My contractions are getting too close."

Natasha paused, thinking for a moment. Sizing Laura up. Then, she jumped out of the truck.

"No problem. I can handle this. Just hop out and I'll carry you the rest of the way."

"Carry me?" This woman was definitely insane. "Natasha.."

"Come on. It's not that far. I have.. slightly enhanced strength. It'll be easy."

"I don't know.." Laura got out of the truck, but still seemed unsure.

"Well, you don't have much choice" Nat suddenly scooped Laura up, making the other woman yelp, and began the trek to the Hospital. "Clint Barton is the reason I'm alive today. I'm not letting his kid be delivered on the side of the rode by someone with no experience. Again, birth? Exact opposite of my job.."

* * *

"We need help!"

If the situation wasn't so urgent, the staff of that small country Hospital may have had more time to marvel over the sight of Natasha Romanoff carrying the at that time much heavier Laura Barton through the doors. As it was, they didn't, because Laura was very clearly in pain.

Nurses swarmed around them, quickly moving Laura into a wheelchair to rush her to the delivery room. Laura seized hold of Nat's hand, giving her no choice but to follow.

* * *

"You're doing very well, Mrs Barton" Said a Midwife, as Laura battled her way through now frequent contractions. "Not too much longer and we'll be ready to push."

Nat was watching everything, letting Laura squeeze her hand, and she had to say that in that moment, she was very glad this was something she didn't ever have to worry about. Laura was handling it like a champ, though. Nat definitely had a whole new respect for her after this.

Just Laura had begun to push, Clint burst into the room.

"I'm here! I made it!" He rushed over and grabbed Laura's other hand. "I'm here, Honey. Thank you so much, Nat. You can go now.."

Nat stood to leave, but Laura didn't let go of her hand.

"No.. I wan't her to stay.." She looked up at Nat. "Please?"

Natasha hesitated. She was really not equipped for this. But..

"Okay" She said softly. "I'll stay."

* * *

Everything seemed to happen very quickly after that.

Laura was pushing, screaming, Clint gently encouraging her.

Natasha felt quite out of place.

But then, there was the sound of a baby crying, followed by a Doctor proudly declaring her a girl. Clint cut the cord, they placed her on Laura's chest.. The baby girl's eyes focused on Natasha for a moment as her parents fussed over her.

She was the most beautiful thing that Nat had ever seen.

* * *

Natasha smiled softly as she finished her story, though she seemed slightly sad at the same time.

"I understood a lot of things more, then.. and a lot of things suddenly hurt more too. But.."

She was interrupted by a soft snore. Wanda had fallen asleep. Her hand resting on the small swell of her belly.

Nat chuckled, redirecting her attention to the bump.

"Well, we've lost Mama, but are you two still listening? The real point I think your Mom was looking for boys, is that, although I'd never claim to be an expert, I do have a bit of experience with these things." She covered Wanda with a blanket. "I'll help her, and you, however I can. That's what Aunties are for."


End file.
